COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (8-19, 5-9 SEC) was victorious on its Senior Day, as the Tigers defeated Ole Miss (7-20, 0-14 SEC, 82-67, on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. Mizzou was once again led by its freshmen duo, as forward Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.) and guard Aijha Blackwell (Berkeley, Mo.) combined for 40+ points for the second straight game.
Frank paced Mizzou for the second game in-a-row, as she scored 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, 3-of-3 shooting from three and 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. Blackwell posted her fourth double-double in the last five games, as she had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
TURNING POINT
Mizzou led from the jump, as the Tigers raced out to a 9-0 lead in the game’s first three minutes. Blackwell had four points in the run, while redshirt forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.) made a three-pointer and senior guard Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) made a jumper. Mizzou led for the entirety of the game, and led by more than 10 points for a majority of the game.
TOP TIGERS
· Frank had her second consecutive and third career 20-point game with a team-high 22 points while shooting 7-of-8 from the field and grabbing six rebounds.
· Blackwell posted her sixth 20-point game of the season and fifth double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
· Senior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) had 11 points and three rebounds while dishing out a season-high four assists.
NOTES
· Mizzou shot 50.9 percent (26-of-51) from the field, the third time this season the Tigers have shot above 50 percent from the field, moving to 3-0 on the season when this occurs.
· Mizzou shot 79.3 percent from the free throw line in the game (23-of-29, marking the 13th time this season the Tigers have shot 75 percent or better from the charity stripe.
· Frank (22 points) and Blackwell (20 points) combined for 42 points for the second consecutive game. Previously, the most by a Mizzou freshmen was Sophie Cunningham (42 points) and Cierra Porter (14 points) combined for 56 points against Wake Forest on Nov. 22, 2015.
· Frank and Blackwell’s scoring outputs marked the second time this season Mizzou has had two 20-point scorers, following Blackwell (21) and Smith’s (20) performances against Nebraska (Nov. 10).
· With 22 points, Frank has now scored 20+ points in two straight games and in three games this season.
· Frank shot a career-best 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the field on her way to scoring 22 points.
· Frank grabbed six rebounds in the game, marking the 11th time this season she has grabbed five or more rebounds.
· Frank moved all the way up from No. 7 to No. 4 on the Mizzou freshman scoring list with 339 points, surpassing Shakara Jones (327, 2007-08, Julie Maxey (326, 1976-77) and Cindy Kiser (325, 1976-77).
· Blackwell scored 20 points and snagged 10 boards, marking her fifth career double-double and her fourth in the last five games. It was Blackwell’s sixth 20-point game of the season, and her 20th time scoring in double figures.
· With 10 rebounds, Blackwell has now grabbed 10 or more rebounds in two straight games. She has 10+ rebounds in four of the last five games, and in five games overall this season.
· Smith scored 11 points in the game, her 16th time scoring in double figures this season and the 56th time in her career.
· Smith moved to No. 20 on Mizzou’s all-time scoring list with 1,257 points, surpassing Jessra Johnson (1,255 points, 2006-10).
· Smith matched a season-high in assists with four, her most since recording four against Western Illinois (Nov. 5).
· Redshirt sophomore guard Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) dished out three assists, giving her 13 games this season with multiple assists and 21 games recording at least one assist.
UP NEXT
Next, Mizzou will play its final home game of the season on Thursday, as the Tigers host Auburn on Feb. 27. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is slated for 7 p.m.